


Roommates

by RedHoodieAndTheOutlaws



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Jason is such a nerd, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-08 20:11:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11653860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedHoodieAndTheOutlaws/pseuds/RedHoodieAndTheOutlaws
Summary: Jason and Tim are roommates at their college. They get along fairly well, and even help each other in their worst classes. They didn't expect to fall for one another, though. Their friends, however, totally saw it coming.





	1. Chapter 1

Tim stared in awe at the giant stone building before him. Students around him were greeting old friends, walking to their dorms, or exploring campus. He looked down at his schedule and glances at the dorm number. He wandered around the university, trying to find his way to the boys’ dormitory. With some help from returning students, he was able to find the right building.

 

Once through the doors, he scanned the doors for his dorm room. Supposedly, he was supposed to room with some guy named Jason Todd. While looking for his room, he found himself wondering what his roommate was like. Was he a bookworm? A party animal? Or maybe he was an athlete? All Tim cared about was having a decent roommate. He didn’t want to be stuck with someone intolerable.

 

After turning the corner about three times, Tim saw the familiar number on a wooden door at the end of the hall. He stood in front of the door nervously. He wanted to meet his roommate, but what if he was messy? Or what if he was rude? _Only one way to find out, Tim._ He took a deep breath and turned the knob.

 

The first thing he saw upon opening the door was anything but a mess. On one side of the room, a man was neatly putting his clothes in a drawer. He hadn’t seem to notice Tim come in. Tim tried clearing his throat to grab his attention. The man’s head snapped up at the sound.

 

“Oh, didn’t hear you come in.” He outstretched his hand towards Tim and politely shook hands.”Timothy, am I right?”

 

Tim nodded. “Yeah, but you can just call me Tim really. Jason I presume?”

 

“That’d be me. Looks like we’re gonna be stuck together for the next few years.” Jason went back to folding his clothes. “I hope you don’t mind the excessive cleanliness. I’m kind of a neat freak.” Tim scoffed when he noticed the pristine condition of the room. To be fair, it was only day one. He could definitely tell Jason was well-organized, though. The neat way he was folding, the way all of his belongings seemed to have a place somewhere.

 

“Well, that’s much more preferable to a sloppy roommate, so I have no issues with that.” Tim set his duffel bag on his bed and started pulling out his possessions. As he was stashing away his clothes, he noticed a pile of books poking out of one of Jason’s bags.

 

“Do you like to read?” Jason seemed surprised by his question judging by the raised eyebrow reaction Tim got from him.

 

“Yeah, how could you tell?” He stopped his folding and looked at Tim curiously. Tim pointed to the luggage on his bed.

 

“There are book corners sticking out of that bag there. It’s looks like there’s definitely more than five in there.” His guess at a possible bookworm seemed to have been right.

 

“Huh, so there are. That’s mighty observant of you, Tim.” He finished folding the last shirt and closed the drawer. “Books are the one thing I love most in this world. It’s like a whole new reality when you’re looking for an escape.” That was an interesting way to word it, and it definitely sparked some questions in Tim’s head.

 

“Oh, then are you majoring in English? I heard the school’s English program is one of the best in the country.”

 

“That was my original plan, but I don’t know. I haven’t chosen a major just yet. I wanna take this year to figure everything out first.” Tim frowned. From fifth grade, Tim knew exactly what he wanted to study in college, and he’d had everything planned out to a fault. A seamless plan for college seemed absolutely necessary to him.

 

Jason fell back on his bed and propped himself onto his elbow. “What about you? Decided what you’re majoring in?”

 

An excited gleam shone in Tim’s eyes. “I’m a business major. I plan on making a name for myself. How does Drake Enterprises sound?” Jason laughed, and it had a deep, amused sound to it.

 

“Quite the ambition there, _Timothy_. You really got your life planned, haven’t you?” He did. He had, really, for years. His father especially had been very supportive of his pursuit in business. “I wish I had that much confidence in my future.”

 

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out by the end of the year.” Jason flashed him a wary smile, seemingly unsure of himself.

 

“I can only hope so.”

 

* * *

 

 

As smart as people tell him he is, Tim was never one for homework. Hell, he’d be willing to pay someone to do his work for him. He found homework to be redundant and a waste of time. It was the same with studying. His grades usually declined due to unfinished homework. He was only passing because of all the tests he was getting 100% on. That was high school. College was no different.

 

After two weeks of school, he had yet finish a single assignment or study even once. Yeah, wasn’t happening. Bad new was, Tim had to work on a big project for his Business 101 class already. Good news, he didn’t really have to do much studying for their topic. As long as he can find some credible sources to cite in his powerpoint, he was fine.

 

So Tim found himself in the library scanning the aisles for business books.He found the exact book he was looking for, but it was just out of reach. He looked around and tried jumping for it. His attempt was in vain. He stood on the tips of his toes and reached for it, but his fingers merely grazed the book’s spine.

 

A hand reached from behind him and grabbed the book down with ease. Tim turned to find Jason with his book in hand. In his other arm was a stack of books, all well over 500 pages each, it would seem.

 

“You seem to be struggling a bit. Is this what you needed?” Jason held out the book to him with a warm smile. Tim’s face flushed from embarrassment as he snatched the book from him. He cleared his throat and tried to thank Jason.

 

“Yes, thank you for the help. I almost had it, though.” Jason chuckled and shook his head.

 

“Sure you did, Timmy. If it helps you sleep at night.” Tim’s eyes went back to the books.

 

“What’s with all the books? You can’t possibly read all of those before their due.” He seemed to take that as a sort of challenge.

 

“I most definitely can, and I most definitely will. Just you wait.” He smirked and held the books close to his chest. “I’m a very fast reader, I’ll have you know.” Jason pointed at Tim’s book and asked, “You studying already?”

 

“Hardly. I just need something to cite. Everything else is up here,” he said, pointing to his head.

 

“You seem pretty confident in that.” Jason had an amused look in his eyes.

 

Tim raised an eyebrow. He was 100% confident. “Should I not be?” He had been preparing himself for college for a long time, and he was pretty sure he knew all the ups and downs of business.

 

“No, no. That’s good. Just don’t let it get to your head just yet. If you get too cocky early on, you might slip up.” Tim shrugged off the bit of advice. Confidence in his abilities had gotten him this far in life.

 

“I’m sure I’ll be fine.” He marched away from Jason before he could say anything else on the matter. Tim found an open table and set his laptop and book on top of it. He took a seat and began preparing his project.

 

His typing stopped when the seat across from him slid out, and sitting in it was Jason. “Are you following me now?” Jason shrugged.

 

“Not particularly. It’s just that your table is the only one open.” Indeed it was. A look around told Tim that every other table was filled by groups of people. Tim sighed in frustration and rubbed his temple.

 

“Don’t you have friends you could be bugging?”

 

“Course I do. They wouldn’t be caught dead inside the library, though. They’re more of the party-all-night-and-get-drunk kind of people.” He leaned back in his seat, blue eyes not breaking contact with Tim’s.

 

“Oh, they’re those kinds of people.” Jason hadn’t really struck him as that kind of person, so he wasn’t sure how he was friends with anyone like that. Jason flipped open a book and started reading.

 

“Sadly, yeah. I get dragged along because of it.” He went silent and turned all of his attention to the print in front of him. Tim stared for a moment longer before trying to get back to work. This powerpoint wasn’t going to create itself.

 

* * *

 

“How are you liking your roommate?” Conner asked. Tim was hanging out in Conner’s and Bart’s room for the moment. Bart was stuffing his face with a burger as he looked curiously at Tim.

 

“He’s okay. I don’t really have a problem with him as of right now.”  


“But?”

 

“But what? I don’t have more to say than that.” Conner looked genuinely surprised. From his spot on the bed, he turned on his stomach and scoffed.

 

“Seriously? You usually have something to say about everyone. Even us, and we’re your friends.”

 

Tim clutched a pillow to his chest and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t really know him well enough to complain. The things I do know are based purely off of observation.”

 

“Sounds like your kind of guy,” Conner says with a slight bit of teasing in his voice. Tim’s eyes widened as he chucked the pillow at Conner’s face. It bounced off of him, and he seemed unfazed by the attack.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” His face was pure red.

 

“It just means what it means. But I know how you are. You like to get close to people before really trusting them. I’m honestly just teasing you, Tim.” Conner and Bart were the only two that knew about Tim’s sexuality. He’d come out as gay to both of them recently, as well as Cassie. They didn’t judge him or shun him like he’d been expecting, which was extremely comforting. It did make for some pretty endless teasing, though.

 

“Jason’s cool, but that’s all. Bart, don’t you dare give me that look.” Bart was rolling his eyes and laughing at Tim.

 

“That could change if you actually bothered to get to know people besides us. You’re allowed to expand your friend group, dude. We’re still your number one friends though, no matter what. Got it?” Tim laughed and nodded. He’d never even considered having friends other than these two and Cassie.

 

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna just go around trying to be buddies with everyone. I’d honestly rather die.”

 

“So dramatic, Tim,” Conner said with a deep sigh. “You’re so pessimistic, too. Making other friends isn’t so bad. I might just start introducing you to people myself. You need to put yourself out their more.”

 

“And what’s wrong with our friend group now?”

 

“Nothing, I’m just saying. We won’t always be around.” Conner sat up and gave Tim a serious look. His mouth was pressed into a thin, straight line. “I’ll be off in Metropolis during the summers, and Bart’s going to be visiting Central City during the breaks. Between those two things, you’ll be all alone. What’ll you do without us?” He honestly didn’t know. Tim would be all alone on the holidays.

 

* * *

 

 

Tim closed his door behind him, sighed heavily, and flopped onto his bed. His eyes closed immediately. The quiet of his dorm room was relaxing after a whole day of classes.

 

“I have never seen someone as happy to see a bed as you, and that’s saying something.” And there it is. Ladies and gentlemen, Jason Todd back to ruin the silence.

 

“You would be too if you had the classes I have.” He peeked over in Jason’s direction to find him staring at laptop in bewilderment. He seemed utterly lost. “You seem to be struggling a bit.” He laughed at his use of Jason’s own words being used against him.

 

Jason laughed and typed in something before frowning. “You could say I’m in a bit of a pickle. On a totally unrelated note, do you know anything about speciation?” Tim jumped up and took a seat next to Jason on his bed.

 

“It just so happens that I do.” He glanced at the computer and noticed the large amount of text on the screen. Jason was writing a paper for his science class, it seemed. To Jason’s right was a textbook that looked super boring.

 

He took the book from Jason’s side and dramatically slammed it shut. “Let’s start by getting rid of that.” Jason seemed even more confused than before.

 

“But-”

 

“No buts. I have an easier way to teach you. It’ll be more hands on and visual than this crap.”

 

“If you’re sure about this.” Tim grabbed a slip of paper from his nightstand and drew out a bunch of figures.

 

“Okay, see these birds here?” He tapped his drawings with the pencil eraser.

 

“Those are birds?” Jason asked jokingly. “I never would have guessed.”

 

“Oh, ha ha. Yes, those are birds. See, they all come from a common ancestor, this bird. And-” Jason watched as Tim described the lesson with such detail. It was definitely more fun than reading some boring old textbook. Tim’s way of learning was much more interesting to him.

 

“Got it?”

 

“Huh, oh yeah. Different birds, same ancestor.”

 

“Exactly. They each evolved to accommodate for their changing surroundings.” Jason tuned out again, just watching as Tim passionately described speciation.

 

“You know, you’re really smart.” Tim stopped and almost couldn’t think of a response.

 

“So I’ve been told. Thank you.”

 

“No, like you don’t understand just how much dumber you make me feel by comparison.”

 

“Well if it’s any consolation, you make me feel dumb when it comes to English. You know everything about that.” Jason prided himself in being well read.

 

“So I’ve been told.” Jason looked back at the blank document on his computer. He shut it and looked back at Tim with a gleam in his eyes.

 

“What do you say we just procrastinate the learning for today and watch a movie. I’ll even let you pick.” Tim was all for procrastinating.

 

“I’d be glad to.” Tim dug through his dresser to find his favorite movie, _Star Trek._

 

“I should have known.” Tim ignored him and placed the movie in the DVD player. He jumped back onto Jason’s bed and laid back. Both boys were silent as the movie played.

 

“Okay, wait. The dude in the blue is the leader, right?”

 

“No, that’s Spock. See the guy in yellow? That’s the captain.”

 

“Chris Pine is the leader?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“What the-?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tim is actually me during class. I'll be honest.

Sleep is something Tim rarely gets. Tonight is no exception. He stayed up late into the night to finish an assignment he hadn't even started. He wouldn't have rushed too much if it wasn't due the next day. Tim had his entire essay written and printed within no time, but now he couldn't sleep. This is great, right?

 

Sighing heavily in annoyance, Tim flops backwards onto his bed and stares blankly at the ceiling. His mind won't shut off. All he can hear is the sound of Jason's steady breathing in the bed next to him. He tries to concentrate on only that, and it calms his racing mind a bit. However, it's not nearly enough to get him to fall asleep.

 

Tim groans quietly and sits up. If he's going to be awake, might as well be useful. And by useful, I mean go down to the café and get coffee. Maybe Jason would want some for when he wakes. Tim looks at the clock on his nightstand. The glowing red numbers indicate that it is 5:34 am. Still too early, and if he got coffee now it would be cold by the time Jason woke up.

 

One of Tim's observations about Jason was that he always woke up later than Tim, usually at 7 am. Classes started at 8, so he used that hour to eat and prepare for class, then was off. Tim liked to have an early start whether he slept or not.

 

He'd just have to wait a bit longer before he could go on a coffee run. Another hour later, and Tim was off. He wasn't even entirely sure what kind of coffee Jason preferred, so he sent him a text, hoping he'd wake and see it.

 

_Hey, I'm out getting coffee. You have any preferences? -TD_

 

Luckily, Jason sent him back a reply as he was waiting in line.

 

_You didn't have to do that. But since you already are, will you get me a Latte? -JT_

 

_Sure thing -TD_

 

Tim was next in line, so he quickly placed his order, waited, then bolted back to the dorm room. When he stepped inside, Jason was already up and dressed, and it was only 6:57.

 

“How considerate of you to go out of your way to get me coffee so early.” Tim handed him the hot drink. “This isn't anything I expected from you,” Jason says as he sips his coffee.

 

“Well, I couldn't sleep, and I figured coffee would do us both some good. There's no better way to start the day.”

 

Jason laughed and agreed. “I can't really argue with that logic.” It was Tim's turn to get ready for class. He made sure to look presentable, as one always should, he felt. After he was satisfied with his appearance, he gathered his notebooks and pens into his backpack and waited for Jason.

 

Their classes were in the same hall, only three doors away. It was pretty much routine to walk that way together on certain days. Most of the walk is filled with small talk, but nothing too awkward or boring.

 

“See you after class, Timmy.”

 

“See ya, Jay.”

 

Already, Tim feels like banging his head against the desk. Why is class so boring? You'd think it would be more exciting since this tied into his major, but this felt like absolute torture!

 

Tim stares at the clock most of the time, waiting for the bell. When it rings, Tim is the first out the door.

 

“Woah, slow down there, Tim.” Jason is waiting outside his classroom, leaning against the wall. “What's the rush?”

 

“Class was just boring. My brain felt like it was melting.” The edges of Jason's face turned up into a smile. It suited him, Tim thought. They start walking.

 

“You know, for someone as smart as you, class and actual learning seems to be your least favorite thing.” Well, he certainly wasn't wrong. Yet he wasn't completely right either.

 

“I just wish I hadn't spent so much time learning every before college,” he says with a sigh. “Now it's hard to concentrate when I already know everything.”

 

“I'm sure you don't know everything.”

 

“Probably not, but everything I _do_ know makes it harder to pay attention.” Whenever the teacher was talking, he would tune any parts he did know, which was a lot. Then it was hard to tune back in for important, new information.

 

“Well, at least you're trying. That's worth something, right?”

 

“I guess.”

 

“Oh, by the way. I invited my friends, Kori and Roy, to hang out later. That okay?” Tim wouldn't be around to mind anyways.

 

“Sure. I'll be with Conner and Bart, so by all means.”

 

“Cool, thanks.”  


* * *

 

 

A sharp knock told Tim someone was in the hall. That must be Jason's friends. And just as he was leaving, too. Tim runs for the door and lets in the guests. A man and a woman stepped in, and both had fiery red hair. Does Jason just have a thing for redheads?

 

“Jason, your friends are here!” Tim shouted despite Jason being about five feet away.

 

“I can see that.” He high fives both of them and pulls them over to his room space. “Ready to have some fun with your best friend ever?”

 

“I didn't know we were hanging out with Dick today,” the girl, presumably Kori, says jokingly.

 

Jason puts his hand to his heart in mock hurt. “Ouch. I actually felt that one, Kori. That hurts.” Tim rolls his eyes at the three.

 

“Aren't you going to introduce me, Jason?” It takes a second for Jason to gather his thoughts and introduce his friends.

 

“Oh, of course. Where are my manners? Tim, this is Kori. That's Roy. Guys, this is my roommate, Tim.” Everyone shakes hands and says a polite 'hi’.

 

“Well, I'm off to see _my_ friends, so have fun.”

 

“You too, Timmy!” And off to his friends’ room he goes. In their dorm, Conner and Bart already have their gaming system setup. As soon as Tim arrives, they toss him a controller and start Mario Kart.

 

“I call Yoshi!” Bart yelled.

 

“Then I call Dry Bones!” Announced Tim.

 

“I guess I'll be Peach,” Conner states nonchalantly. “I see you guys trying not to laugh. There's nothing wrong with me being Princess Peach, guys.”

 

Bart and Tim were trying their best to stifle their laughter. “Yeah yeah, if you say so, Mr. Manly man.”

 

“You won't be saying that when I kick your asses at this game.” Conner seems determined. That's never a good sign. Tim focused on his character as the countdown began. At ‘1’, Tim was off and already in 4th place.

 

Bart was gaining on him fast. As soon as he was in front of Tim, he released a banana peel, sending Dry Bones spiraling out of control. “No! Yoshi, why!”

 

Conner calmly drove Princess Peach past Tim, into 3rd place, and a bit closer to winning. Tim was being bombarded by attacks left and right. Everyone was seemingly out to get him. “Why me?” Conner and Bart were neck-and-neck. Bart was on Conner's tail. Then, it happened.

 

A blue shell went flying at Conner, taking out both Peach and Yoshi for their close proximity. Crossing the finish line was...Toad?

 

“I knew it,” Tim said, pointing with his controller. “Toad can't be trusted!*

 

“So, none of us wins?” Bart watched as they were scored on-screen. Tim in 5th, Conner in 2nd, and Bart in 3rd. “Did not see that coming.”

 

“Best 3 out of 5?” Conner suggests.

 

“Of course. Loser owes winner lunch.”

 

* * *

 

 

“How was it? Did you beat everyone's ass at Mario Kart?” Jason asked when Tim sat down on his bed.

 

“No, and now I owe Bart lunch. He has a big appetite!” Tim stated frantically. “He might as well eat my wallet!”

 

“I'm sure it'll be fine.”

 

Tim sighed. Both of them went silent, the only sound being the repetitiveness of Tim tapping his hands on his legs. He huffs and looks around, trying to preoccupy himself. It’s not working very well for him. The boredom is getting to him. Jason, on the other hand, was peacefully reading a book. Upon closer inspection, Tim could see the title _Pride and Prejudice_ written on the spine.

 

Not wanting to interrupt Jason’s reading, he quietly goes back to squirming the uncomfortable boredom away as best he could.

 

Okay, this isn’t working. He needs something to distract him. “Are you as bored as I am?” He figured that was a no, but asked anyways. Jason glanced up from his book and shook his head.

 

“Not really. If you are, though, I’ll keep you company.” He places a bookmark between the pages and turns to Tim.

 

“Any idea what to do?” Tim asked.

 

“I mean, it’s just the two of us, but we could play truth or dare. If you’re cool with that, of course.” Yay, a chance for Tim to embarrass himself. Just what he needs. Might as well go along with it. His severe boredom is telling him to just say ‘yes’.

 

“Why the hell not. I got nothing to lose.” Tim and Jason took a seat on the floor right across from one another.

 

“Alright, I’ll go first,” Jason suggests. “Tim, truth or dare?” Well, which is least embarrassing he could choose. A dare could definitely embarrass him if it was stupid enough, but a truth could be equally terrifying if the right question was asked.

 

“Truth,” he blurted out without much more thought. Well, no turning back now. Hopefully Jason just won’t ask something super embarrassing.

 

“Wow, choosing the easy path, huh? Alright, I’m not judging.” Jason paused to think. He figured he should start off with something relatively innocent. “Who was the last person you dated?” Okay, maybe just slightly less innocent than he was going for, but he couldn’t think of anything better right then and there.

 

Tim let out an awkward, very fake laugh. “Yeah about that. It’s not something we really talk about much, but Conner and I kinda used to be a thing.” Jason nearly choked on his own spit. Conner. As in, one of Tim’s best friends Conner?

 

“Woah, when did that happen?” He was genuinely intrigued, but Tim seemed a bit uncomfortable talking about this.

 

“It was high school. We ended things Junior year, so by now it’s less awkward for the three of us.” Tim quickly tries to change the subject. “Long story short, Conner and I have chosen to stay strictly platonic, and it’s actually working out better for us than being romantically involved.” He cleared his throat, a sign of discomfort. Jason kinda felt bad for bringing it up now. Tim tried to focus back on the game. Honestly, he was glad to leave it at that because he and Conner really were doing better as friends.

 

“Okay, Jason. Truth or dare?” Without much hesitation, Jason impulsively chooses dare.

 

“Oh, I have the perfect dare,” Tim said with an evil smirk. He had a dangerous-looking gleam in his eyes, one that definitely kind of frightened Jason.  


* * *

 

 

Tim and Jason stumbled back into their room laughing their asses off. “Oh man, Roy’s gonna be so pissed,” Jason said between laughing fits.

 

“Yeah, but it’ll be so worth it.” They tried their best to calm down and resume their game, but they would erupt into laughter again without warning.

 

“Did not take you for the pranking type, Timmy. Not that it wasn’t enjoyable,” Jason said after calming down a bit. “I’m impressed.”

 

“Hey, mixing green hair dye with Roy’s shampoo is nothing. I could have done so much worse.” He’s pulled far more annoying pranks on Conner, though usually with the help of Bart. Roy was no different.

 

“You know, you’re really growing on me, Timothy. I’m liking you more each day.” Tim groaned at the use of his full name, but smiled nonetheless.

 

“I can definitely say the same about you, Jason.”

 

Between you and I, Roy was not the only victim of their game of truth or dare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly did base a lot of Tim's behavior in class off of myself. Any opinions on Tim and Conner's past relationship? Do we like it? Do we not like it? I don't want to make it this awkward, jealous kind of ex-relationship. I'm kinda aiming for 'he's my best friend and if you hurt him, I'll break you' type ex-relationship. I don't know, let me know what you guys think about it.


	3. Chapter 3

Without any classes on the weekend, Tim would finally have some time to himself. Except Roy, Dick, and Kori seemed to have other plans, and they were adamant that he and his friends should join. As Jason had mentioned, he was of course dragged along by his friends. 

Their idea of fun was playing laser tag at the local arcade. Not that Tim was complaining. It’s not like he was going to do much. His only complaint, really, was that he had less time to relax. Lately, Jason had been motivating him to stay on top of his assignments. That gave Tim more time to do whatever he wanted instead of actually doing schoolwork. That was always a benefit to Tim. 

Now, standing with the laser gun in his hand, he wished he had objected to being dragged out of his dorm room. Quite literally, at that. On his team were Roy, Dick, and Bart. The other team consisted of Jason, Kori, Stephanie (who DIck had invited), and Conner. 

As soon as the round started, Tim took to an alert stance. He carefully picked his way around the area, pointing his gun at any open space. His first shot was fired at Stephanie, who was very well hidden around a corner. Much to her dismay, it hadn’t been enough to fool Tim. 

Tim had just barely missed a hit from Kori twice now, and he managed to get a hit on Conner. A smirk formed on his lips when he noticed Jason sneaking up on Bart. He didn’t stop him just yet and watched as Jason took aim and hit Bart. His vest flashed to show he’d been hit until it wore off. As soon as Jason whipped around, Tim was aiming for his chest, and pulled the trigger. Jason’s vest flashed, and he stared at it in disbelief. He looked up and spotted Tim. 

Jason chuckled and aimed his gun at Tim. He moved just before Jason pulled the trigger. There game of chasing each other went on for some time. Neither of the boys was truly focused on hitting anyone else. 

“I’m going to get you back for that, Timmy.” Jason chased him past their friends, barely seeing the looks of amusement. Tim bolted around a corner and found himself trapped in a dead end. He turned as Jason came into view and went wide-eyed. He quickly threw his hands up in surrender as a last resort.

“Jason, dude. I’m sorry. If you back away now, I’ll buy you more coffee.” He figured persuading him would work, but it didn’t seem to be.

“It’s gonna take a lot more than coffee to convince me, Timmers. This calls for revenge,” Jason said with a playful smirk. Tim had nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. This was it. This was how he would meet his end.

His dramatics were interrupted when they were told their time was up. Tim shrugged at Jason to mess with him. Now anything Jason did wouldn’t count in terms of a score. They removed their gear and went to the front desk to check their scores. Roy seemed convinced they were the winners, but Kori thought otherwise.

The monitor at the front desk showed a list of numbers for individual players, and a total for the teams. In the number one spot was none other than...Jason’s team? Tim stared at the score in horror. How could they have beaten them? His team had done so well! Especially with Roy on his team. Roy had astounding aim, which Tim never would have guessed.

When he checked individual scores, Jason definitely had the most points. He looked over at Jason with wide, questioning eyes. Jason noticed his shock and told Tim, “I’ve been learning to shoot since I was 12. This is nothing.” Tim made a mental note of that. He had quite a bit of new information about Jason, especially as of late. This was definitely something he wasn’t going to forget. 

Jason was high fiving his team in celebration of their victory. “Well, we tried and we failed,” Bart pointed out. “And strangely, I’m okay with that.” Roy and Dick, on the other hand, were not satisfied with their result 

“We were so close, ”Dick said. “How could we have lost?”

Roy shrugged. “The minute Jason and Kori were put on a team, we were doomed to fail.” It was true. Of their teammates, Jason and Kori did have the highest scores. From what he’d seen when playing, Jason most definitely was a good marksman like he’d said. Kori was just very good at sneaking up on people, ready to take the winning shot each time. 

“Better luck next time,” Jason said with a smirk and a shrug. 

Tim rolled his eyes and said, “I won’t have to wait until next time. Sleep with one eye open tonight.” He saw Jason pale, because if anyone knew how vengeful he could be by now, it was Jason. And Roy, who gave Tim a high five for messing with Jason.

* * *

 

The whole week, Jason kept an eye on Tim, fearing he could be attacked at any moment. The thing is, Tim had no plans to attack him. Laser tag had been fun whether he’d lost or not. He’d have preferred to win, but he wasn’t bitter. Making Jason so wary of him was just part of his plan. He’d constantly be anxious to the point of paranoia, when really nothing was going to happen to him. 

Tim could be very evil when he wanted. This was just proof. So far, it was working. Jason always watched Tim suspiciously. He really did think Tim was going to try something, especially after what they’d pulled on Roy. After a week, he gave in and told Jason it was a joke. He didn’t seem to buy it one bit.

“Jason, I’m not really going to do anything. I promise. It was all a joke.” Jason crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

“That’s what you want me to believe. You’re trying to fool me. Well I’m not letting my guard down that easily, Timmy.” He was really taking this seriously. Tim just let him think what he wanted and pulled out his laptop. He might as well get some work done while Jason was avoiding him. A blank word document stared back at Tim. He had no idea what he was supposed to be working on. What had they learned in class again?

“You know, usually you’re supposed to type words onto the page. You’re paper’s looking pretty empty to me.” Tim glanced at Jason, who was sitting on his bed cross-legged and deadpanning.

“I’m well aware of that, Jay.” He tapped his fingers against his thighs as he thought. “I’m just not sure what to write.”

“What happened to it being all up here?” Jason asked as he pointed at his head. “That’s the whole reason you refused to study, isn’t it? That’s the way I remember it.” He was right, but Tim wasn’t going to say so aloud. His lack of studying was beginning to show, and Tim was starting to think he had been wrong to major in business. However, Tim Drake was no quitter. He was going to make a name for himself and make his parents proud. That was his main goal in life, after all.

“Yes, well I’m sure it’ll come back to me eventually.” Jason sighed and let Tim be. He pulled out his textbooks to study, unlike a certain someone. He had  a notebook out, and was effectively taking notes on his studies.

Tim couldn’t help but notice how cute Jason looked focused, but thinking that made Tim flinch. He waved the thought away and looked back at his blank paper. He tapped aimlessly at random keys, trying to think of anything to write. Nothing was coming to mind. He peeked over at Jason again, who had abandoned his notes and was simply reading the textbook.

Maybe Tim could stand to take some pointers from Jason. After all, he was receiving better grades because of all the studying he did. Clearly it was paying off. Tim tried reading one of his textbooks, but got distracted every time Jason flipped a page. When he looked at him, Jason seemed thoroughly interested in whatever he was reading.

Whatever it was, Jason was having fun with it. Maybe it was because Jason loved reading? The man was a reading machine by now. Tim, though? He was bored out of his mind, and could not focus on his work. Reading about business was extremely tedious to him. But he was expected to know all this to start a company. It was hard work, and definitely a snooze fest, but he would power through it.

* * *

 

“Are you over it now? Like I said, I’m not going to do anything.” Jason was finally convinced that it was okay to be around Tim. He’d revealed his intention to psychologically screw with Jason just to be a sore loser.

“Now that I know you’re not gonna jump me? Of course.” The two of them were walking through the halls to class. While Jason remained unconvinced, he would stand farther away from Tim than usual just to be safe. It was a lot nicer having Jason walk with him, and at a reasonable distance.

Down the hallway, Dick was handing out flyers. The words at the top of them implied that he was having a party at his house.When he spotted Jason and Tim, he gleefully shoved a flyer towards the two. “You guys should definitely swing by my party this Saturday. My dad’s going to be off on a business trip.” Bruce Wayne was Dick’s dad, and a very wealthy and important man. Business trips were normal, but supposedly they had a butler who usually stayed behind. That apparently wasn’t an issue, according to him. “He’s actually visiting family for a week. I got the place all to myself.

Tim nodded, saying he would most likely show up, which was such a lie. Jason, however, was a hundred percent on board with the party idea. He knew that Tim would never actually agree, though. When Dick was out of sight, Jason gave him a pleading look.

“No, I’m not going. It’s just polite to pretend as though I might.” The pleading eyes grew wider. Jason started pouting. “God dammit, no!”

“Please don’t make me go alone, Tim. My friends will definitely do something stupid while there, and I don’t wanna be apart of it again.” Jason sounded genuinely distressed. His lip was almost quivering by now. Tim felt his resolve crumbling. The puppy dog eyes was not helping.

Tim sighed. “Okay, fine.” Jason’s face brightened. “But only on one condition.”


End file.
